How far would you go for someone you love? Would you be willing to
give up your own life? Sixteen-year-old Blake finds himself in this
situation in Full Tilt. When his thirteen-year-old brother Quinn
falls into a coma, Blake knows he must be strong, brave, and ready to conquer
his fears in order to save Quinn’s life.
Blake must travel to an invitation-only carnival in order to find his brother,
Quinn. This is no ordinary carnival, though. Blake must ride
seven rides before dawn in order to not only save his brothers and his
friends, but to stay alive himself. Each ride is dangerous and life-threatening,
and each one forces the person on board to face his deepest fears and insecurities.
Blake has to find a way off every ride and continue to the next one ­
if not, his soul stays entrapped at this bizarre phantom carnival forever.
As he is fighting for his life, the normally responsible, cautious Blake
must find the strength within himself to fight the demons at the carnival
and the demons in his own mind. He must resist the charms of the
beautiful seductress, Cassandra, the owner of the soul-stealing carnival.
Blake must deal with his feelings of anger and frustration over his wild,
thrill-seeking brother. He must face his grief and disappointment
concerning his father abandoning his family. He will realize his
love for Maggie, his best friend’s girlfriend. Perhaps the most difficult
task of all is when Blake must relive a horrible incident from childhood.
He can no longer run from the secret that has haunted him forever.
Full Tilt ­ Hold on tight...this is one ride you will never forget.
(Stacy Holcombe Symborski, stacy_holcombe@yahoo.com,
DR Hill Middle School Media Specialist/USC intern)

Booktalk #2

Sixteen-year-old Blake has
always felt responsible for his troubled younger brother, Quinn.
When Quinn is found comatose in his bed with an invitation to a bizarre
invitation-only carnival lying next to him that was earlier given to Blake
by the mysterious Cassandra, Blake realizes he must go to the carnival
to save his brother. Blake is in for the ride of his life when he
enters the carnival. In fact, his soul and those of his two friends
that accompany him are the price of admission. Blake must survive
seven different rides before dawn to reclaim his soul and his brother’s
soul. Each ride taps into Blake’s greatest fears. With time
running out, the last ride requires Blake to come to terms with his repressed
childhood trauma of being the sole survivor of a school bus crash. If Blake
doesn’t succeed, he will lose the souls of the two friends who accompanied
him, Quinn’s soul, and his own. Together the brothers must form a bond
of trust and cooperation in an effort to save their souls and the others
trapped in the hellish carnival. Is their bond enough??? (Brian
A. Glassman, South Carolina
Book Awards, 2006)

Booktalk #3

Though brothers,
16-year-old Blake is the cautious one and his younger brother, 13-year-old
Quinn is always pushing toward the edge.Yet, when
Quinn’s fate becomes linked to an unusual amusement park, it is Blake who
must reach out beyond his safety zone or face losing his brother and his
friends.

Imagine you are the only stabilizing
influence in your dysfunctional family. You are responsible, thoughtful,
and make excellent grades. In addition, you are dependable, cautious, and
keep a watchful eye on your reckless, thrill-seeking brother, Quinn. Despite
all this, however, you find yourself trapped in a bizarre, invitation-only
carnival open from midnight to dawn. You must endure seven of the most
terrifying rides imaginable to save your brother’s soul and your own life.
This is sixteen-year-old Blake’s dilemma. A gorgeous, mysterious girl gives
him an invitation to a theme-park rave. Normally, Blake would never think
of attending, but when Quinn steals the invitation, he has no choice. Quinn
disappears and is trapped inside the carnival’s labyrinth of thrills and
enchantment. Blake must find him before both he and his brother are absorbed
by the park at sunrise. (136) Full Tilt is a fast-paced, heart-stopping,
magical thriller. Author Neil Shusterman fills this wonderfully eerie fantasy
with just the perfect combination of suspense and psychological drama to
keep readers flying through the pages. Will Blake find the courage to face
his own fears to rescue his brother? What challenges must he overcome to
save himself? Who is Cassandra and where is this world she has created?
Read Full Tilt by Neil Shusterman for the answers! Oklahoma
Sequoyah Young Adult Book Award nominee, 2005-2006